Hello, we had a conservatory completed in Nov 2013, by Jan 2014 we were finding water ingress into the new plaster on what had previously been the outside walls, no trays or vertical dpc were fitted by the contractor but lead flashing was fitted at the join to the house. Facing the prevailing SW wind the bricks above and to the sides of the conservatory were getting saturated in the rain and with nothing to stop it continued inwards & downwards. Trays & vertical DPC were not specified in their quote or ever mentioned. As layman we knew nothing of such things and naturally expected the finished product supplied by a seemingly reputable company to be waterproof. Should one expect the installing company to rectify this at their own cost ?
Water ingress in new conservatory, no trays or vertical dpc
- Thread starter pistebasher
- Start date
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I don't think I have ever seen a connie company retrospectively fit C.T.'s
They probably don't even know what they are.
Just like they don't know what a 'full depth' foundation is or a proper over-site.
Connie companies charge decent money for a low end product. Most connies are little more than glorified sheds and is the reason why they are not regulated and only used for six months of the year. Mine included.
You can try and blagg it but I doubt that you will be successful.
They probably don't even know what they are.
Just like they don't know what a 'full depth' foundation is or a proper over-site.
Connie companies charge decent money for a low end product. Most connies are little more than glorified sheds and is the reason why they are not regulated and only used for six months of the year. Mine included.
You can try and blagg it but I doubt that you will be successful.
Yes, they should attend to this problem, as the product is clearly not fit for purpose.
Yes, and they will charge extra for the privilege.
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Presumably there will be no formal plans for this conservatory. Had there been plans, then whether or not a cavity tray should be installed would be determined by the plans.
In this case, and in the absence of plans, it is left to the builder of the conservatory to provide a workable product. Clearly if water is pouring in, the building is not serviceable; it would fall foul of the Sales of Goods Act.
If I go into a car showroom to buy a new car, I would expect it to come complete with an engine, even if I knew nothing about engines.
And if the car dosent fit in your garage do you blame the garage?
Assuming its not a problem with the lead flashing then its the house wall that is leaking which the conservatory company have no liability for.
In an ideal world yes they should have given a quote or estimate for cavity trays and explained that you may need them. I always do this on my quotes and talk to the customer about them, As of yet not one person has wanted to pay the extra for them.
Even with all the really bad weather we have had none of my conservatory's have had this problem.
Is it a brick or rendered house?
Your options are:
Retro fit cavity trays.
A good few coats of paint above the conservatory (assuming its rendered).
A water seal product applied to the bricks above the conservatory (will need reapplying approx every five years).
Ship lap cladding above the conservatory.
It would be worth first having someone check that they have done a good job with the lead, I have seen a company recently that is just siliconeing and nailing lead to the wall
. It needs to be correctly chased in.Also check the condition of the felt on the roof in that area, Felt tends to shrink back at the edges and could allow a lot of water into the cavity, Felt support tray would be an easy fix if that is the source of the leak.
Poor analogy.
Would you expect a car to be automatically fitted with air conditioning simply because you decided to drive from a cool climate down to a warm one?
The bricks would have been getting wet before the connie was there.
Irrespective of all of the above, CT's would have been an extra cost in any case.
If a builder is asked to provide an extension and it leaks, he can't say to the customer : Oh, you should've said you wanted an extension that doesn't leak - that would have cost more'.
By the same token, the builder could have built the conservatory directly off the lawn and, when it sinks, say to the client: Oh, you should have said that you wanted a foundation - that would have cost more'.
In this day and age, any competent builder would know that cavity wall (old or new) can leak, and that a tray should be fitted when an outer face becomes an inner face of the extension.
People who set themselves up as builders are required to display a reasonable degree of competence.
By the same token, the builder could have built the conservatory directly off the lawn and, when it sinks, say to the client: Oh, you should have said that you wanted a foundation - that would have cost more'.
In this day and age, any competent builder would know that cavity wall (old or new) can leak, and that a tray should be fitted when an outer face becomes an inner face of the extension.
People who set themselves up as builders are required to display a reasonable degree of competence.
Trays would of course be an extra cost, but they will cost even more to fit retrospectively
Unlike builders we are expected to give exact fixed quotes for everything and provide contracts and timescales and a 10 year garentee.
As I said:
"In an ideal world yes they should have given a quote or estimate for cavity trays and explained that you may need them. I always do this on my quotes and talk to the customer about them, As of yet not one person has wanted to pay the extra for them. "
If the conservatory company didn't mention it then yes that is bad practice but there are no building regs on conservatory's so there is no need in law to specify them.
If I automatically included them in my quotes and didn't give the option I would never get the job as I would be quoting against company's who don't include them.
Just for the record I come across more bodged windows/doors and conservatory's fitted by builders than I do by window company's.
As I said:
"In an ideal world yes they should have given a quote or estimate for cavity trays and explained that you may need them. I always do this on my quotes and talk to the customer about them, As of yet not one person has wanted to pay the extra for them. "
If the conservatory company didn't mention it then yes that is bad practice but there are no building regs on conservatory's so there is no need in law to specify them.
If I automatically included them in my quotes and didn't give the option I would never get the job as I would be quoting against company's who don't include them.
Just for the record I come across more bodged windows/doors and conservatory's fitted by builders than I do by window company's.
Ahh the old Cavity Tray conundrum eh nose ......
I know and conditions have been just right this Winter.
Prolly won't see 'em again for another sixty years either.....
Thanks for your various opinions. To clarify they did give us a quite detailed quotation with drawing and diagrams. Had they offered trays & vertical DPC as an option and we had refused that would be fine and our responsibility to sort out. Our feeling is that they should have at least made us aware of the potential problem. We agree with the 'Not fit for purpose' diagnosis & will proceed along those lines.
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